KPMG News

Major Reinsurers Look to Exclude Coal from Treaty Policies, as Climate Pressure Grows

Major reinsurers have already pulled back from providing bespoke cover for coal projects as part of efforts to meet global climate change commitments, but now comes the hard part – finding ways to exclude coal from bulk-buy contracts, known as …

Britain Targets Big 4 Auditors, Company Directors With Reform Proposals

Britain proposed weakening the market grip of “Big Four” auditors on Thursday and making company directors responsible for spotting fraud after the collapses of retailer BHS and builder Carillion. Directors would have to repay their bonuses if the company went …

UK Company Directors Could Become Personally Liable for Financial Statements

LONDON – Company directors would become personally liable for the accuracy of their financial statements under landmark proposals from Britain’s finance ministry next week to improve corporate behavior, sources familiar with the plans said on Friday. Directors would have to …

UK Watchdog Urges Big 4 Accounting Firms to Challenge Clients as Audit Quality Slides

The dominant accounting firms must do a better job of challenging their clients in order to reach a satisfactory level of audit quality, the industry’s UK watchdog said. The so-called Big Four — KPMG, Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers …

UK Accounting Watchdog Asks Big Four to Ring-Fence Audit Practices

The UK dominant accounting firms must separate their audit units from other businesses by June 2024 as the country’s accounting watchdog reacts to shortcomings that led to the collapse of several companies. The Financial Reporting Council is asking the so-called …

From Enron to Wirecard – Big 4 Accounting Firms Still Face Systemic Problems

Two decades of financial disasters from Enron Inc.’s collapse in 2001 to Wirecard AG’s meltdown have left the Big Four accounting firms facing a major cultural problem that regulators may struggle to resolve. The 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) missing …

Insurers Face Big Investment Losses, Trade Credit Claims from Coronavirus Crisis

Having initially brushed off the potential impact from coronavirus-linked claims, global insurers are waking up to the prospect of a double whammy – a sharp rise in payouts at a time of big investment losses. Because epidemics are excluded from …

Big 4 Accounting Firms Should Separate Auditing, Consulting Work: UK Lawmakers

The “Big Four” accounting firms should be forced to legally separate their “cash cow” consulting work from their auditing businesses, a U.K. Parliament committee said Tuesday. PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, EY and KPMG — which between them control more than 90 percent …

What Insurers Want and Get from Insurtech Partnerships

Remember the scene in the 1989 movie When Harry Met Sally? During lunch with Harry at a deli, Sally very publicly fakes a wild orgasm. A nearby patron, when asked what she’d like to order, signals in Sally’s direction and …

UK Financial Services Regulations Unlikely to Be Relaxed After Brexit: KPMG

KPMG expects Britain to ignore calls to loosen banking rules after Brexit and said in a report on Wednesday it may even become tougher with measures to protect consumers and defend its financial stability from cyber attacks. Britain’s regulators are …